December 17th Letter

I love love love being a missionary!!! This week has been fantastic, there is almost to much to write about but I will do my best!

 

We have been working with the Monsuvis family for about a month and a half and they are really starting to progress! This week we were able to teach them about the Word of Wisdom, which teaches that we should abstain from tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea and illegal drugs. Victor, the dad, said he know he needs to quit smoking but he just hadn't put any effort into quitting. So, we asked him if he wanted to try the program that we have to help people quit smoking and he said YES! The program last 7 days and he has already made it through a day and a half! The whole family has come to church 3 times and all the kids love singing and learning about Christ. VeeVee (who is 10) really wants to get baptized! She is scheduled to be baptized on the 28th of December and everyone in the family is excited! We love getting to work with them because they have all come such a long way and it is all because of Christ.

 

 My favorite Christmas song lately has been "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". I love the progression of the song. At first the man is depressed and has lost all hope until he realizes that through Christ hope and peace are never lost! It just feels me with such joy!

 

Sunday we had 4 investigators at church! Vee-Vee (victors daughter), India (she lives with the Monsuvis family), Scott (his friend recently got baptized so he wanted to learn more) and Ben Vallejo (who's dad is a member). It was awesome to have all of them there! Even though we didn't get to see Scott this week he has been reading the scriptures and has all of the church apps on his phone, it was awesome how excited he was about all of them! We were only able to see Ben (who is 10) once this week but it was a really fun lesson where we taught him about keeping the Sabbath Day (Sunday) holy by using ice cream :)

 

Sunday they shared a really powerful video in relief society. It is called None Where with Him by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. I am so grateful for the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ so that we can be comforted in our times of need.

 

We also got to watch the new "Introduction to Mormons" videos on Sunday! They are awesome! Whether you have no idea what the church is about or if you have been a member all you life you should go watch them because they explain everything really well (and they aren't even that long). So go watch them here: http://www.mormonchannel.org/introduction-to-the-church

 

Yesterday we had a zone conference (a big meeting with lots of missionaries) and it was so great! Sister Stuart was there and it was so good to see her again! I got to sing with some other Sisters (they asked me that morning :)). We same "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus", luckily it went really well for no practice!

 

UPDATE: So they show a slide show with pictures of everyone that was baptized so if someone was baptized after you left that area you can see the picture and GUESS WHAT!?!?!? Bobbie, Christi and the Mink twins from Volcano Cliffs all got baptized!!!!!! I was so happy I started to cry! I love all of them so so much and even though I didn't get to be there it fills my heart with joy to know that they got baptized!

 

Overall this has been a great week! I love getting to serve the Lord and I love Christmas time! I hope you all take time to think of the Savior at this time of year and follow his example by serving others.

 

Love you,

Sister Lexy Smith

December 10th

 

Things are going great and starting to get cold here in El Paso! This week we have been working with Vee-Vee, one of our investigators, who is 10 years old. She is so sweet and so prepared to be baptized! We have been teaching her dad, Victor, for about a month now but we didn't start really teaching her as well until now. It has been so exciting to see how the ward has just taken her in as their own. She was able to go to activity days (activities for girls age 8-11) and made a Christmas tree decoration with the other girls and had a great time! Then Saturday at our ward Christmas party her whole family came! They supplied more than a fourth of the party, it was awesome! She even preformed Jingle Bells and a little dance for the talent show and everyone loved it! Sister Brown and I sang an acaplla version of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful". I love singing in front of people so it was really fun! When we started to sing everyone was chatting really loudly but instantly the room quieted and filled with the spirit. I love the Christmas season because so many peoples hearts are open to receive the message of Christ. I know that Christ lived and I am so grateful for all he has done for us! "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." 2 Nephi 25:26 I am so grateful that I know why I am here on earth because we see so many people that are just going through the motions with no real understanding of why they are here. Saturday we met a guy named Scott who had a friend that got baptized that day. He said his faith has been strengthened by her example and he wants to follow Christ as well. It was amazing to me to see how willing he was to do whatever he could to learn more. He came to church on Sunday and has already gotten pretty far in the Book of Mormon. I love the gospel so much and I love getting to share it with others because it brings such peace to their lives. The Christmas devotional on Sunday was awesome I would suggest everyone go watch the talk by Elder Nelson.

 

Love ya tons!

Sister Lexy Smith

Thanksgiving Week

 

This week has been so good! Thanksgiving was really busy but lots of fun! We have seen a really big increase in the number of members that go out with us which has been awesome! It is so exciting to see them feel the spirit and desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others!

 

It amazes me the many trials people have. I love the words of Nephi when he says "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  1 Nephi 3:7 I know that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle. He wants us to succeed in life!

 

Monday night we had dinner with Sister Sanchez and her husband Babo. She has been a member for 15 years and has been trying to get him to come to church with her ever since! He finally agreed to meet with us and we have been reading in the Book of Mormon with him. While we were reading Monday night the spirit testified to me that Joseph Smith testimony at the front of the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Babo felt the spirit as well because he said that once he reads the book and knows that all of it is true he will get baptized. Hopefully he reads fast :)

 

Tuesday we were able to pick up a thanksgiving dinner that a member donated for us to take and give to Natalie and Torrance. It was so much fun to show up with all of the food because you could tell how happy she was to receive it. We knew they had been struggling a bit but she told us that they had been really low on food and weren't expecting to have thanksgiving dinner. I know that Heavenly Father is watching out for all of us and will always provide for us. That night we also go to help a member that is moving pack. I love getting to serve! Anytime you are feeling down go out and serve! Not only does it bless their lives but it lifts your sprits and theirs as well.

 

Wednesday was awesome! WE had 3 different sisters from the ward come out with us. It was really neat to see how the Lord directs our paths. We had been given a name to go visit but it was a bad address. There was a lady(Teresa) outside where the street number should have been and we felt prompted to go talk to her. And guess what?!?! She ended up being the one we were supposed to go see! That same night one of our appointments fell through and we felt prompted to go visit the house of a member who has recently moved because her grandma was still living there. Can you guess what happened there?!?! Tara, the member, opened the door! She was visiting for thanksgiving and it was really good to see her before she left town again. I am so grateful for how the Lord has filled my heart with Charity. I love all of the people here so much!

 

Thanksgiving was another exceedingly excellent day! We went and cleaned up after the El Paso Thanksgiving parade. We went and helped Natalie cook some of the good they had been given. She had never made cookies or pie before so it was really fun to show her what to do. We had our first dinner at the Petty's house. Their food was delicious! It was so much fun to get to talk to her family, it reminded me of all the good memories with my cousins. Afterwards we had another dinner at Brother Spencer's in Chaparral. At first we tried the wrong house but the family there was so nice and told us that if we didn't find him we could come back and eat with them! We ended up finding his house but hopefully we will get to teach the family we met more about Christ. When we were done there we went back to Natalie's and read with her in the scriptures about the atonement. She got really quiet when and you could tell that she was feeling the spirit. I love their family so much and I am so grateful that we get to share the gospel with them! Next we went to the Cadd's house. Luckily they didn't make us eat anymore because we were stuffed! We got to talk to Brother Cadd's mom who we have been reading the Book of Mormon with. SHE FINISHED THE BOOK OF MORMON!! She is amazing! It is so exciting to see her progress as she comes back to the gospel. Finally we had a lesson with Victor and Teresa (the lady we found on Wednesday). Victor only speaks a little English but he understood everything we taught. His heart is so ready to follow Christ! He told us he knows Joseph Smith is a prophet, he wants to read more and get baptized! I have been so greatly blessed and I am so graeful for the opportunity I have to serve others. I love getting to share the gospel, which is so precious to me, with so many of Gods children. I know God loves us and has given us everything we have. Doctrine and Covenants 59:18

 

I am so grateful for covenants(two way promises) we make with God. Friday we got to go to a baptism for an 8 year old boy in our ward. Torrance and Natalie were able to come and it was so awesome! The spirit was so strong during the whole meeting. I know God keeps His end of His promise when we keep ours. It amazes me that even 8 year old children can understand the importance of covenants  and desire to make them.

 

I love meeting new people! Saturday morning when we were walking around we stopped at a house where a lady was selling German jelly's and jams. She was so sweet! We were able to invite her to the Christmas Nativities Around the World party they are having at the church and she said she had been wanting to feel the spirit in her life lately. I know that God is preparing people to follow Him!

 

Overall this week had been awesome! We have seen so much success as we just go out of our comfort zones and talk to everyone. I know that we are ALL children of God and he wants ALL of us to be happy. That is why He has provided a Savior for us. I love to feel the Holy Spirit because it fills me with so much joy! Doctrine and Covenants 11:13. Remember Christ as we start the Christmas season and always find time to serve others because that is what will bring you the most joy.

 

Love you all so much!!

Sister Lexy Smith

 

November 25th

Another Fantastic week! Tuesday night we were planning for the next day and all the power went off! It was funny because everyone in the appartment building came outside, one girl even gave us an extra candle she has so we could finish getting ready for bed! We have had the most member out with us yet! It is awesome to see how the ward is getting involved in missionary work and starting to share the gospel with their friends. It feels we have been going for one thing to the next all week long which sure makes the time go by fast! In one of the lessons the member that came with us shared a quote from President Uchdorfts talk "You Can Do It Now". It is one of my favorites, so you should go read it and let me know what you think!

 

It is amazing to see how the gospel changes lives. We have been teaching a couple (Torrence and Natalie and Quinn) and they have progressed so much since we first met them! Only a couple of months ago she told her sister to tell us not to come back. Now we are reading with her in the Book of Mormon and she soaks everything up like a sponge! The spirit has testified to me over and over that the Book of Mormon is the word of God during our lessons with her. She asks us if we can come back the next day before we even have a chance to ask her! I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who gives us so many chances. He will never give up on us. I love this gospel so much and I love the way it changes people for the better. 

 

Guess who came to our district meeting Friday?!?! President and Sister Miller! I love seeing them because they are always so kind and warm. They have such a special spirit around them! It was a much needed visit because they were able to help us in our study of how to become more like Christ.

 

So...................... I'm staying in El Paso with Sister Brown for another transfer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

There is so much work to be done here and I am excited to continue to do my part!

 

I love all of you and hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

 

Love,

Sister Lexy Smith

November 19th

This week has been really good. We had an investigator and several less actives make it to church which was awesome!

 

Wednesday we went and visited a less active sister with the relief society president. We read in Mosiah 4 and several of the verses really hit me. The one that I like the most was Mosiah 4:19 which says "For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have...?" It can be so easy to forget that everything we have comes from God but when we remember that it becomes easier to feel compassion for our fellowman. That same night we got to visit a family that we have been teaching. Two of the brethren from the church came with us and gave every member of the family blessings because the little boy was going to have surgery on his tonsils and the grandma had just had eye surgery. The amazing part was when we went back the next day they told us that the doctor said it was the best surgery he has ever seen and both the boy and the grandma where healing extremely fast! There is real power in the priesthood.

 

Thursday we visited a less active family in Chapparal with a sister from the ward. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation because the boy, who is 8, wants to be baptized. At the end of the lesson we asked if they would commit to come to church. The mom told us no because they work which was really sad. But on Sunday... they came!!!! It was really amazing! The whole family, including the dad who isn't a member, decided it was better to come to church then to work that day! You could see how happy they were and all of the members where so nice to them and included them in everything!

 

Saturday we got a call from a lady who hadn't been to church in 18 years but wants to start coming back. It was amazing to see her at church on Sunday with her four kids! One of the speakers in sacrament meeting talked about the sacredness of partaking of the sacrament, and the covenant it represents. The spirit was so strong during the meeting. I cannot comprehend the mercy of God. It amazes me. He wants all of us to partake of His goodness and His love. He does not care how far gone we are, His grace is sufficient for ALL men.

 

I know the gospel is true. I know it without a doubt in my mind. I know it because I have read the scriptures and I have prayed to know if they are true and God, in His mercy, has answered my prayers. I know He will answer yours. I would encourage everyone to have the faith to go to your Father in Heaven. Ask Him for help, let him know how you are doing and He will listen.

 

I love all of you and hope you have an awesome week!

Love ya,

Sister Lexy Smith

New P-day!

 





Our  Gratitude Wall!



Monday night we started exchanges and I got to go with Sister Klaus (Sister Training Leader) in Rio Grande on the other side of the mountain. All of the appointment they had set, including dinner, fell through but it was exactly what needed to happen! Sister Klaus showed me that you don't have to get stressed when something falls through because instead you rely on the Lord and he will lead you where you need to go! Their area is Spanish speaking so during the lesson we taught I gave my testimony in English and she translated it into Spanish. It was an amazing experience and the spirit was really strong. I know that God loves all of his children and that no matter what language they speak the spirit touches our hearts all the same. We also got to go and serve a member with another set of sisters. All of the missionaries call him Grandpa, it's so funny! He had us labeling his Irises, he has over 90 different varieties! I love exchanges because you learn so much from working with different missionaries!

This week we had the most member present lessons since I have been in this area! Our mission president has asked us to strive for 20 a week (which we are very far from) because he know what a difference they make! It really helps the spirit testify of truth when another person who is not a missionary but just someone that they can be friends with testifies of the truthfulness of our message.

Friday we had our Zone meeting with all the other missionaries in El Paso. I love meetings with other missionaries because they are so uplifting because we are all serving the Lord! Our preparation days will now be... TUESDAYS! That just means that instead of writing letters and emails on Monday they will now all go out on Tuesdays. Sister Klaus and Sister Fallentine (Sister Training Leaders) challenged us to carry a Book of Mormon in hand everywhere we go for a week. Thus far it has been a really great experience. There is real power to be found in the scriptures and I have found myself opening them far more often then before when it always stayed in my bag. During the meeting Grandpa (Brother Arroyo, the one we labeled irises for) spoke. He shared how he had gone through many trials as a young boy and became angry with God and the Church. After several years he had a leader that befriended him and showed him how God did still love him. It is amazing to me to see how the Atonement is individually for all of us. Christ suffered EVERYTHING we go through because he loves us. He doesn't want us to feel alone or forgotten. Instead he wants us to lean on him in times of need so we can feel his loving arms around us. We can always return to him. He also shared the scripture Alma 26:22. I want to be a missionary like that!

Sunday we had 4 members that haven't been to church in quite awhile come back because we visited them this week! It was great to see how everyone befriended them and made them feel included.

Yesterday was the first Monday that wasn't a preparation day... and it was great! We had two lessons where members where able to come with us and the spirit was very strong. We went to visit another member who hasn't been to church in awhile. As we were walking up to her apartment a guy called out for us to stop. At first we thought it was her husband coming around the bend but it ended up being a guy we had never met. He told us that we was a member of the church but hadn't be able to find the church in El Paso and he had been here for 5 months. He had been praying that he could meet other members so he could go to church. Because we had followed the prompting to go visit the Sister that lived in his apartments we were an answer to his prayers! I have had so many experiences where Heavenly Father has used us to answer another persons prayer. I know that He answers prayers and that He loves us.

Overall this week was one of the best thus far on my mission. I hope you all had a great week too!

Love ya,

Sister Lexy Smith

We had matching skirts, so why  not match!

Grateful

This week was really good and full of growth!

Tuesday was an awesome day! Our Sister Training Leaders came over to see how we have been doing and to give us some advice on how to feel more successful. It was a much needed talk as things have been really slow in our area. Afterwards we tried a less active family who was busy so we walked down the street to try and visit another less active on our list. As we were walking there was a guy outside working in his garage so we stopped to talk to him. He was very friendly and showed us what he was working on. It was a plaque that spelled LOVE made out of old license plate letters, it was super cool! He then asked us what church we were from and we were able to have a gospel conversation with him all from just stopping to see what he was up to. Later during the week we tried the house that the less active we had meant to go visit lived at an it was empty and for sell. I know we were supposed to visit this guy instead because we were able to go back and visit the guy again and even though we didn't have a formal lesson he offered to make us signs for our mission for free and to meet with us again! The Lord really does work in mysterious ways! That night we also were able to have President and Sister Miller (our mission president) over. We got talk with them about our work in Hondo Pass and come up with ways to work better with our ward. President Miller gave both Sister Brown and I blessings which were much needed. I am so grateful for the Priesthood because I know that priesthood blessings are directly from God.

Wednesday our ward had their Halloween Party so we got to make Chili at lunch time with Sister Lawyer. It was the first time I have ever made chili but it turned out delicious!

Before the Halloween party we went to visit a less active girl who wasn't home so we decided to walk around the neighborhood and see if anyone else was outside. As we walked down one street we saw a man outside putting his trash cans away so we started to talk to him and invited him to the Halloween Party that night. Out of all of the people that we invited to the party he came!! It was really awesome! He was able to sit and eat with some of the members and they invited him to church and he said he would come! He ended up having to work that morning but he said he really want to come another week and hopefully we will be able to start teaching him this week! We decorated Sister Lawyers car like a missionary for the trunk or treat, it was super cute. 

Another miracle that happened was when we tried to visit the Camacho family. We had tried them Friday and the gate had been locked and when we got their Saturday it looked like the same thing was going to happen. We decided to pray anyway and while we did Brother Camacho came out and opened the gate!!!! We were able to read in the Book of Mormon with the three girls that have not been baptized. We committed they to be baptized in November and they accepted! Even though they were not able to make it to church Sunday we are still so excited for them because we know they are ready to take this step in their lives.

I love being a missionary and even though it has it's challenges, everything else make up for it! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween and have another great week!

 

Mark 8:35

 

 Love, Sister Lexy Smith

Power of the Priesthood

The flower was a live one! Needless to say it's still warm in El Paso!

This week has been good! None of our investigators have been progressing which is frustrating but we just keep working!

 

This week we visited a less active sister and her husband who isn't a member with Sister M         (a member of the ward). It went really well because when we got there the Elders where helping in the yard and had just been talking to them about how we hadn't been over in a couple of weeks! We were able to go inside and talk with them for awhile. We had asked him about baptism a couple of weeks before and he had just shrugged us off but when Sister M        asked him about what he knew of the gospel and what was holding him back from joining his wife he told! He wants to know for himself if Joseph Smith is a prophet before he joins the church but he said he really does want to know! We are so excited to them because he said we could come back and start teaching him the lessons so that he can understand everything better and prepare for baptism!

 

We have been working with a lot of less actives lately and we were able to visit the H              family this week. They are really great and want to start coming back to church but they work on Sunday. The husband (who isn't a member) said that if they have to find another job so that they can come to church they will! That is such a great example of faith! It amazes me what people are willing to do to come closer to the Savior.

 

We have also been working with the former bishops mom who is less active. She is such a sweet little old lady! She has really bad panic attacks so she stopped coming to church but since we have been visiting her she has expressed a great desire to go to the temple. Yesterday night we were able to have dinner at the C     families house, her sons family, and Brother C     was able to give her a blessing of comfort. I know that priesthood blessings have real power. The spirit was so strong during the blessing and you could feel the room fill with peace.

 

Thursday night our plans fell through but we ended up getting a call from the elders quorum president so we changed our plans and drove back to our apartment complex. A former investigator named Scarlet lives in our apartment complex and she had been really sick. That night she decided to wait outside for him to come home so she could ask him for a blessing. He hadn't planned on coming home but felt he needed to come back to get something so he was there when she was waiting. It was amazing to see that Heavenly Father knew her needs even when we didn't, but that he helped us to be there when she needed us. He called us after he talked to her so we hopped in the car and drove right over.  She doesn't have any furniture so we all stood while he gave the blessing but it was probably one of the most powerful experiences I have had thus far on my mission. The spirit was so strong, and although I don't know her well I know that God loves her and cares about her and answered her prayers. Afterwards she started to cry and told us that her faith is really small. The elders quorum president related the story of when Christ healed the young boy after his father said "Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief." It was exactly what she needed to hear and we were able to share our testimonies of the power of priesthood blessings. Sunday we were able to go visit her again and she told us that the very next morning she had felt like her old self again, not sick one bit! That is the power of the priesthood, I know that miracles still happen today.

 

I am so grateful for everyone support and love and prayers. I love hearing from you so keep writing! I hope you have a great week and know how much Heavenly Father loves you. Go to Him in prayer and He will answer you.

 

Love you tons,

Sister Lexy Smith 

Happy Halloween!

"That Makes Sense"

This week has been a really awesome one! We have been working with our investigators trying to set baptism dates so they have something to progress towards. We also found a new investigator this week!  She is awesome! We found her trying to find a less-active that has apparently moved. She invited us back and when we came back we were able to teach her about the restoration. She said that her husband has been trying to get her to find a church but she just hasn't spent the time to find one. When we taught her about modern day prophets she "That makes sense, if God loves all His children he should give us prophets too!" When she said the closing prayer the spirit was so strong, you can feel that she knows she is talking to her Father in Heaven.

 

I LOVED General Conference! It was all so good and so inspiring! Some of my favorite talks where by Elder Edward Dube, Elder Gifford Nielson (about missionary work!!), Elder Holland, and Elder Richard G. Scott. You should go look them up, because you will like them too. One of my favorite quotes was "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith" by President Uchdorf. General Conference

 

We had the opportunity yesterday to go to the Albuquerque Temple! It was about a 4 hour drive each way but it was so worth it! I love going to the temple because you can really feel God's love for you there. It was also such a neat experience to be there with just missionaries. We were all just so happy and you could feel the spirit so strongly. President Miller spoke to us afterwards, he always gives such great advice! He talked about how we need to trust that the Lord will help us know what to say, which is something that I am always trying to work on. Sometime it is easier to say the same thing to everyone but when we really listen to the spirit we will know what it is God wants each of His children to hear.

 

I love all of you and enjoy getting all of your letters and emails. If I don't reply right away please don't despair, I try and read all of them but because writing time is limited to only P-Days it is hard to write to everyone all the things I have to say. Have patience and know I will get back to you soon!

 

Love you tons!

Sister Lexy Smith

"When they left they all had big smiles on their faces" 10/14

Sister Brown and I at the Albuquerque Temple!

 

This week has been both hard but very good! Sister Brown got sick but not sick enough to stay home so we still went out but it was mostly me doing all the teaching. We haven't had a lot of lessons this week but we have tried to do a lot of finding so hopefully something will come of that!

When we were knocking one street I had the impression to try the houses on a cross street and the first house we tried was A--------! She is a super sweet girl who is going to UTEP. She invited us in to share a message with her and once we got to teaching her about the Book of Mormon she pulled one out! She had gone to the institute because she was interested and wanted to know more! She was so excited and said she knew it was a sign that we had come to visit her so soon after her wanting to learn more!

We also have been teaching a lady, G--------, out in Chapparal New Mexico. She is very religious but doesn't feel satisfied with her church. Whenever we teach her she always thinks her beliefs are going to be very different than ours but they end up being the exact same! She even asked for a Book of Mormon before we had even taught her about it because she wanted to pray about Joseph Smith to find out if he really was a prophet!

Our investigator A------ came to church yesterday with her 2 sons! It was so great to see her there and I know she felt the spirit! When they left they all had big smiles on their faces! A less active family also came to church yesterday for the first time in years! They were so happy and it was amazing to see the ward befriend them! Our ward has really stepped up to the plate and we had 10 people say they would go out with us this week!

I am really grateful that I get to stay in Hondo Pass for another transfer with Sister Brown because all of the seeds we planted last transfer are just starting to sprout!

I love being a missionary even though it can be hard because the gospel brings so much joy into peoples lives and we get to be apart of their joy! Thank you for all the letters and emails! I love hearing about how everyone is doing so keep writing!

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Lexy Smith

"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith."

Albuquerque Temple

 

This week has been a really awesome one! We have been working with our investigators trying to set baptism dates so they have something to progress towards. We also found a new investigator this week! She is awesome! We found her trying to find a less-active that has apparently moved. She invited us back and when we came back we were able to teach her about the restoration. She said that her husband has been trying to get her to find a church but she just hasn't spent the time to find one. When we taught her about modern day prophets she "That makes sence, if God loves all His children he should give us prophets too!" When she said the closing prayer the spirit was so stong, you can feel that she knows she is talking to her Father in Heaven.

 

I LOVED General Conference! It was all so good and so inspiring! Some of my favorite talks where by Elder Edward Dube, Elder Gifford Nielson (about missionary work!!), Elder Holland, and Elder Richard G. Scott. You should go look them up, because you will like them too. One of my favorite quotes was "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith" by President Uchdorf. General Conference October 2013

 

We had the opportunity yesterday to go to the Albuquerque Temple! It was about a 4 hour drive each way but it was so worth it! I love going to the temple because you can really feel God's love for you there. It was also such a neat experience to be there with just missionaries. We were all just so happy and you could feel the spirit so strongly. President Miller spoke to us afterwards, he always gives such great advice! He talked about how we need to trust that the Lord will help us know what to say, which is something that I am always trying to work on. Sometime it is easier to say the same thing to everyone but when we really listen to the spirit we will know what it is God wants each of His children to hear.

 

I love all of you and enjoy getting all of your letters and emails. If I don't reply right away please don't dispair, I try and read all of them but because writing time is limited to only P-Days it is hard to write to everyone all the things I have to say. Have patience and know I will get back to you soon!

 

Love you tons!

Sister Lexy Smith



I received the "Novella Star" award at Zone Conference!

Zone Conference & Norma's Baptism

Sister Brown & Sister Smith

This week has been crazy awesome!!! So much has happened in just one week! For starters Monday night we had an appointment with one of our investigators but they weren't home so we decided to go and knock a street nearby. No one on the left side of the street was interested but once we got to the right side of the street miracles happened! One lady was super nice and although she didn't have time to talk with us then she set up a time that we could come back. Then we met M----------- who was outside with his kids. We asked if we could share a message with him and his family and he said yes and went to get his wife! They invited us in so we taught the restoration and it went really well! They both said that they believe that Joseph Smith could have gotten an answer to his prayers because they have gotten answers to their prayers. Before we went to leave he said that he loves learning but is non-denominational and I really felt like I needed to invite then to be baptised right then... so I did! The spirit was so strong and he said that if he finds out it's true he will do whatever it takes to come unto Christ! I am so grateful that I was listening to the spirit and followed that promting. The very next house was a lady named C-------- who invited us in right away. She had met with LDS missionaries in Hawaii before she moved to El Paso a couple of months ago. She is catholic but after we taught her and her daughter A------ the plan of salvation the spirit was really strong. She asked us about church and we was really impressed that we get to partake of the sacrament each week because that is something that she wishes they did in her church. Needless to say we set an appointment and will continue to teach them!

Zone Conference

Wednesday was Zone Conference! We got up at 4:30am so we could be ready to go by 5:30am. It was so nice to see all the other Sisters, especially Sister Beech(my compaion from the MTC who I haven't seen since we got to NM)!!

Sister Smith & Sister Beech

The conference was awesome, I took tons of notes and felt so uplifted and inspired afterwards! One of my favorite things that they talked about was that we are commanded to be of good cheer! The Lord wants us to be happy and he has even commanded that we be happy.

 

 

We have been visiting with lots of less actives lately. Our ward has a very strange makeup, 1/3 of the people on the list have moved, 1/3 are less active and the last 1/3 is active. One of the ladies we visit is Sister L----------, she is the sweetest old lady! When we went over this week she read us a letter her granddaughter that is on a mission sent her. In it she talked about the story in  1 Nephi 8 where Lehi see's the tree whos fruit is the love of God. She was very confused by the letter so we read the story with her. It was amazing to see that as she read she was able to teach herself and, without our promting, she decided that she needs to start coming to church again. She had stopped going because she had panic attacks but she said that she knows if she prayes with faith she will be able to get through sacrament meeting without one. We are so excited for her to start coming again!

 

 

 

 

Saturday was amazing! One of our investigators, Norma Duarte, got baptised!





She has been investigating the church for 6+ months and was so ready to make that covenant with God. The spirit was so strong and you could tell that she was happier when she left than when she came in.

 

That afternoon we got to go to the dinner our stake was putting on before the Relief Society Broadcast. We had invited a lady who's daughters are members but she is not. We were a bit worried at first but after she said she would go we knew that's what we were supposed to do. It was amazing to see how the Lord know what we need even when we don't. We had been planning on getting a ride from the relief society president of our ward but friday we weren't able to get ahold of her and let her know we would be bringing a potential investigator. We ended up calling both of her counselors and no one answered! We finally decided to call a lady from the ward and see if we could get a ride with her and she said we could! When we got to her house saturday she told us that she had invited 3 other sisters from the ward to come with us. We all went to pick up our potential investigator and it went even better than we could have hoped for! The sisters were so nice to her and she got along with then great! She hasn't been in El Paso very long so making those friendships is just what she needed!

Sunday was so good because we got to fast! I love fasting because there is so much power behind it. As a stake we were fasting that the members that are in the military could get permission to go to the Juarez temple. When they first announced that this is what they wanted to fast for I was so afraid and almost didn't want to include it in my fast but as I have prayed throughtout the week and while I was fasting I have had the spirit testify that God would not allow any harm to befall his people when they are going to the temple. It is amazing to see the peace that you can feel when you rely on God.

I love being a missionary and can't wait for another great week! I hope you are all doing well and have a wonderful week too! 

Love you tons,

Sister Lexy Smith  

Sister Smith and Sister Brown made a Don't Eat Pete game to play with investigators and Member for FHE.

 

September 23rd

This week has been a bit of a slow week but it has still been really great!

We have seen and increase in our number of lessons which is amazing because we only got one new investigator and lost 3 because they didn't want to make any changes in their lives. It is always hard when people don't want to make changes to bring their lives into harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ but as long as we invite them to come unto Christ and help them in any ways that we can we are doing our best. This week I have found there is real power in being bold. When we don't make our purpose for visiting people clear they won't want to change but when we let them know that we are there to help them come unto Christ there is a change is the way they act and they desire to know of the truthfulness of our message for themselves. It is amazing! There is a couple that we are teaching and right from the start we let them know that we were just there to help them but that they would have to pray to know for themselves. They paid so much more attention to what we had to say and they asked us so many questions because they wanted to know! Before we left we commited them to be baptized if they found out that our message is true and they both said yes! I am so excited for them because they are willing to make the changes necessary in their lives to progress in the gospel.

It was also amazing to see how the Lord has helped us find those people that are prepared. We had been given a referal from mormon.org so we went to find the guy so we could teach him but when we got to the address that we had for him he didn't live there. We were about to leave but then the lady said that we could come back next week and teach her family the message we had been planning on teaching the referal. We will be teaching them on wednesday night and I am so excited for it because I know that we were ment to find that family!

Next saturday one of our investigators, Norma, is getting baptized! She has had a long hard path towards baptism but I am so glad that I get to be one of the missionaries that is here for her baptism! It is amazing to see the joy that has come into her life because she wants to follow Christ.

I LOVE being a missionary and am so glad that I have the opportunity to share the gospel with some many wonderful people who are searching for the truth. I know that God loves each of his children and that if we will pray with real intent he will answer our prayers. It has been amazing to me to see how much I have already learned on my mission. As we study the scriptures and the words of the prophets we can gain so much knowledge and truly can liken their stories unto ourselves. I hope everyone has a great week!

Love, Sister Lexy Smith

P.S. Keep writing because I love hearing from you!

September 16th

This week has gone by so fast, and lot happened! Tuesday it started raining and it didn't stop until Friday! It was crazy! Apparently El Paso never gets this much rain so all the streets where flooded.

We have had to stop teaching several investigators that have not been progressing. It is sad when they don't have a desire to change but want us to visit still but I know that eventually they will come unto Christ. It is amazing to see that the Lord has helped us to find people that are prepared! A family in the ward asked us to go and visit their neighbor so we did and she is awesome! She was watching a movie with her family but she said we could come back the next day. When we went over she had left us a note on the door saying that she was on a run but that she would be home soon and if we couldn't wait to give her a call so we could meet another time. We gave her a call and we will be meeting with her and her husband this next week. Sister Brown and I are both really excited because she is really excited to meet with us! There is also a family that lives in our apartment complex that we have become friends with and they wanted to learn more so we taught them for the first time on Friday night. That was the day that I was on exchanges with the Sister Fallentine but it went great! They had a lot of questions but really want to help their kids learn about Christ and the gospel. Sunday night we felt like we needed to go and visit the friend of a member who had been at dinner with the sisters about a month ago. It was amazing to see that she needs the gospel in her life. She is going through a really rough divorce but still has a strong desire to have a happy family. She has been reading the Book of Mormon the sisters gave her and has been praying and wants to do whatever it takes to come unto Christ... so we invited her to be baptized and she said yes right away! So we invited her to be baptized on a specific date and she grabbed down her calendar and wrote it in! She is amazing! She told us that the past couple of Sundays she has tried to get her two kids ready for church but because her son is disabled she hasn't gotten ready in time for 9am church so she hasn't come but she set an alarm on her phone so this next week she can get up at 5AM! and get ready in time. We are so excited for her and know that the Lord has been preparing her to find the gospel! It is amazing to me to see the kinds of changes people make in their lives so they can be baptized! 

Exchanges this week with Sister Fallentine and Sister Klaus went really well. It is amazing how much you learn from other missionaries. Sister Fallentine suggest we use the "President Monson questions" when asking for referals. They are: Who do you know that has recently had a baby? Who do you know that has recently lost a loved one? Who do you know that is going through a hard time? Who do you know is having trouble with their teenagers? and Who do you know that wants a stronger family? It is amazing to see how members at first couldn't think of anyone for us to go and visit and after asking the questions they have a long list! Everyone need the gospel because the gospel can help everyone!

I know this is the true gospel of Christ and I love it with all my heart! Thanks for all the support! 

Love, Sister Lexy Smith

El Paso,Texas!!!

This week has been crazy! Transfer day was intense because we had to get up at 5:30am to get ready and go to the first transfer meeting in Albuquerque. Sister Stuart is still in Volcano Cliffs and she and her new companion are both Sister Training Leaders. After that meeting I went in a van with other Sisters to Los Cruses New Mexico for three hours to the next meeting. Sister Carter from my district in the MTC was there and it was great to see her! After that meeting we went in another car for an hour to  El Paso for the last meeting of the day where I met my new companion Sister Brown! She is from West Jordon Utah and has been out for 3 months. She has been in our area the whole time which is such a blessing because she knows where everything is! We are in the Hondo Pass ward which covers part of El Paso Texas and Chaperel New Mexico. This week has been a lot of adjusting to not knowing the area and trying to unify our companionship. There are a lot of investigators in the area but very few are willing to go to church so we are trying to find new investigators to teach as well. One of the investigators, Norma, was married last week and is preparing to get baptized next weekend! When I got here she had already been taught all the lessons so all we have done was prepare her for her interview and now help her get ready for baptism. There are a lot of less actives in the area so we have been visiting with them and inviting them back to church. There is one couple that has made a lot of progress since Sister Brown got here and now we are just working on helping them get to know the ward members better. Overall this area has a lot of potential and I am excited to help further the work here. I'm so grateful to be out serving and that Heavenly Father trusts me with his children! Matthew 10:39 has been one of my favorites this week because as I serve I really have been able to recognize my strengths and weaknesses so much more than I was able to before! Matthew 10:28-30 is also a really great one but you will have to go read it to find out!
Love ya,Sister Lexy Smith

August 26th Sorry I forgot to post this.

This week we have had a lot of service opportunities which has been great! We helped vacuum for and dust for an elderly part member couple Tuesday and then we went back and pulled weeds for them on Wednesday. They are both really great and have so many amazing stories from their lives!

We also have been visiting a lot of less actives this week. It is sad to see that they don't recognize the difference that not having the gospel has made in their lives but hopefully as we continue to reach out to them they will desire to come back to church. When we were talking to Sister Malherbe (a recent convert), she told us that the weeks she can't go to church because Olivia is sick she just feels weird and feels like something is missing all week. There really is such a tangible difference in our lives when we make that effort to be at church. There is real power in partaking of the sacrament and renewing our covenants each week.
We met with the Mink twins on Saturday and found out that we will have to postpone their baptisms until their grandma gets out of the hospital because they had wanted their grandpa to baptize them but he can't come down right now. We were both a bit bummed but it really is for the best because now they will have more opportunities to come to church and to get to know the kids in primary before they are baptized.
We taught Brian for the first time this week. He didn't want to ask questions but just wanted to learn and then ask questions once he understands more. We taught him the restoration and share the first vision with him. The spirit was so strong after we shared the first vision, he said he just felt super good and that it felt like the sun had come back into his life. He really has a desire to know of the truth and to turn his life around and we are really excited for him. He came to church yesterday but only stayed for the sacrament meeting. Then last night he called us to ask us some questions about the Book of Mormon and he was already reading in Enos! We talked to him about how Enos prayed and received answers to his prayers and we committed him to pray and then tell us about his answer next time we meet. It has also been a really big blessing for us that the ward members are reaching out to him. The Christensen family texted us and said that they had him over last night and that it was great to get to know him. I know that member missionary work has real power. We can teach someone until we are blue in the face but until they feel the love from the ward they won't stay in the church.
I am so grateful that I get to be a missionary and share the gospel with the great people here in New Mexico! I love all of you and miss you! Keep writing because I love hearing from you!
Love ya, Sister Lexy Smith

August 19th Lifting Burdens

This past week has been a really great one! Bobbie's daughter's family came in town so we helped her organize and get ready on Monday which was really great! Wednesday was a bit crazy because we had two mission meetings. Sister Stuart had to go to the first on and I didn't so I went to the Cibola area with Sister Wilcock who had been in my zone in the MTC. Their area is biking so I got a taste of that and it really wasn't bad! We were able to go and visit someone they had just met the day before and he was really receptive to our message. Then we met back up with the other sister so we could go to the second meeting. We had dinner with a part member family, the husband had gone to church the past Sunday and want his wife to teach him before he starts taking lessons from us. I'm really excited for their family! Thursday we had dinner with Bobbie & Sister Bender. They are both so wonderful and it is great to see that Bobbie is being fellowshiped. Her daughter Jessie got baptized about a year ago and then married Sister Benders son. They came in for the weekend because a friend was getting married so we got to meet them and they are super sweet. They are preparing to go to the temple soon which is super exciting! We also met with Sister Malherbe that night. We had a youth activity on Sunday and she is one of the ward missionaries so we talked to her about our plan. She has only been a member for about a year and she has never prayed out loud with the missionaries before. When we went to leave Sister Stuart asked her if she would give the prayer. She was a bit hesitant but she said that she would! Her prayer was one of the most powerful prayer I have ever heard! I knew that she knew that she was talking to God and that the blessings she was asking for would be fullfilled. It was amazing. After we left, Sister Stuart and I couldn't contain our excitement! Friday we met with Sister Mink and the twins (age 9), Courtney and Austin. The twins are on date to be baptised August 31 which is super exciting. We taught them about Tithing and Fast offerings and Courtney asked where she could get and envelope because she wanted to pay a hundred thousand dollars, it was cute. Saturday we were able to see Brian who was a potential who got sick and wasn't able to come to any of our appointments. He was really glad we stopped by again and said that he wanted to come to church since he hadn't been about to the week before because he was sick. Sunday he didn't show up during the whole meeting and as we were leaving the building to go get some stuff from our car for members of our ward we saw him in the foyer! It was a miracle that we even saw him there! The other ward had just finished their sacrament meeting and he knows one of the families in that wards so we found them and had him go to Sunday school with them. After getting everything done that we needed to we went to the other wards Sunday school where they were talking about the Word of Wisdom. Brian said that he had never even thought about the things he puts in his body as being harmful and he said that he didn't want to smoke ever again! After that he left but we have an appointment with him this week and he said he will be back at church next week! Sunday night we had a fireside with the youth called the "Sunday Night Sit-down with the Sisters". The youth of the ward invited their non-member friend and we played a game, shared a message and had a question answer session. We watching the Mormon message Lifting Burdens with them. It talks about Christ and his atonement and how it can affect our lives. Go and watch it because it is a really good one! I hope everything is going well for you guys and I love hearing from all of you. Remember that you are children of God and that He loves you. I love being a missionary and wouldn't be anywhere else! Love ya, Sister Smith

August 12th

What a fantastic week! We had exchanges Tuesday with the Sister Training leaders. Sister McFarland and I stayed in Volcano Cliffs (my area) while Sister Stuart and Sister Morris went to Monzono. Sister McFarland is such a great example! We saw so many miracles while she was here. We went to go visit a less active family who ended up not being home but while we were walking back to the car a lady came out of her garage. We talked to her for quite awhile and found out that she is from Scotland and is a member but has been less active for 10 years! She still reads the Book of Mormon and prays but her husband is not a member. She invited us back so hopefully we can get her to come back to church and start teaching her husband!
The ward members feed us every night which has been such a blessing. We are able to get to know them better and to teach them one of the lessons. This really boosts their confidence in us and increases their desire to do missionary work!
We taught Bobbie this week and Brother & Sister Fuller came with us. She told us that she has decided to get baptized here (instead of in Utah) so she can be with her ward family and that her daughters family will be coming up as well! We are so excited for her! She is just such a sweet lady and she is doing all the right things to prepare for baptism!
This week we had online training for family history work. I am so excited to start incorporating family history work into missionary work! It is such a great way to introduce people to the gospel because they already have the desire to learn about their families.
This Sunday Sister Stuart and I stayed with the Young Women for their lesson. The lesson was taught by one of the girls and she did a great job. We read from  Proverbs 31:10which says "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." I love this verse because rubies are not only precious by they undergo similar processes as us. They undergo pressure and heat, and they take large amounts of time to form. Just like that process we have trials and tribulations in this life and it takes time to become a "virtuous woman" but the result is something of beauty and great worth!
When we talked to the Bishop this week he had just been to a stake mission meeting with our mission president, President Miller. He is now super excited to do missionary work! He recognizes the changes that need to be made and he is willing to work!
After dinner we taught the Ward family the plan of salvation at the Sprague home. They are awesome and Mrs. Ward said "I'd never thought about it but the plan of salvation makes sense!" I am so excited for their family and I cannot wait to keep teaching them!
We also saw Louise yesterday. She is the funniest lady and she always has the weirdest stories! She has been working a lot lately and her health hasn't been the best so we suggested that she talk to her home teacher about getting a priesthood blessing. She was a bit hesitant but she recognizes that they have helped her in her life before and she knows that it will help her again.
Overall this week was great! Keep being awesome!Love ya,Sister Lexy Smith

August 5th

 

This week has been really great! We have been teaching Bobbie and Christi this week. They are both doing really well. This week we taught Bobbie about the power of the priesthood and the Word of Wisdom. She asked for a priesthood blessing and yesterday we were able to go over to her home with a couple of the members of the ward and talk to her about faith and Brother Sprauge gave her a blessing. The spirit was so strong, I know that she will be able to over come her trials and that she will be blessed as she continues to prepare to be baptised. We also were visiting former potentials for the area book and most of them have not been home but one of them was. He talked to us about his desire to come back to church (he was catholic) and how he has been reading about redemption. We invited him to church next week and he said he would come. We also asked if we could come back and teach him and he said yes so we will be seeing him again this week! I know that as we put in our part the Lord will do the rest. Romans 5:3-5.
Romans Chaper 5

Love, Sister Lexy Smith